Characters

Synopsis

The episode starts with Mr. Krabs closing the Krusty Krab, stating "Thought those deadbeats would never leave." Meanwhile, SpongeBob is in the kitchen and finishes washing the dishes. Krabs comes in and finds a dirty spot on a plate. He shows this to SpongeBob and states that he can't leave until he gets the spot is removed. Mr. Krabs then tells SpongeBob to lock up when he's done. SpongeBob then reminds Krabs that when he was left alone at work, the Krusty Krab set on fire. Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob that he removed all welding equipment from the premises and there is thus no chance of a fire happening again.

Afterwards, SpongeBob tries scrubbing the spot off the plate, but that doesn't work, so he declares war. First, SpongeBob uses a jackhammer but then falls over and the jackhammer repeatedly smacks him in the face. Secondly, he tries repeatedly banging a bat on plate, which fails. Thirdly, he uses a chainsaw and repeatedly bangs on the plate, which doesn't work either. Once SpongeBob is out of breath, he gets a tank and shoots a pink sponge on the plate. Since that fails, SpongeBob spits on it and the spot still doesn't come off. After which, SpongeBob states "I got to finish this."

Spot-Master 6000

SpongeBob soon comes back, dressed in an army outfit and introduces the dirty spot to the Spot-Master 6000. He first shows the spot the microwave-powered laser particle beam. Then, he shows it the laser-guided high-pressure water cannon. Finally, SpongeBob shows the spot a specially woven metal alloy ingeniously combined with state of the art cleaning materials. He calls it "steel wool" and it comes with a laser. SpongeBob asks the spot "Any last words?" After hearing nothing from the plate, SpongeBob starts up Spot-Master 6000 and turns on the particle beam and the water cannon. Since it's not working, he turns on the steel wool laser. While this is happening, the Krusty Krab shakes, lights are shining out of it, and Mr. Krabs can see it from his house while in bed. Krabs looks through his window and doesn't worry because he assumes it has nothing to do with SpongeBob.

Meanwhile, SpongeBob is still trying to get the spot off and then crosses the laser beams. He declares "More power!" While this happens, the Krusty Krab sends out 'sound'-like waves through the air, causing everything to look like it's wiggling. Mr. Krabs checks out of his window again and decides to go see how SpongeBob is doing. When he is near the Krusty Krab, he says "Oh, boy, that can't be good." As Mr. Krabs gets his key out, SpongeBob uses maximum power on the spot. Once Krabs opens the door, a huge blast wrecks the restaurant and a bursting size of an atomic bomb. Once the explosion is over, the restaurant is completely destroyed and then the Spot-Master 6000 disintegrates. SpongeBob looks at the plate and notices the spot finally came off. However, Mr. Krabs angrily chases SpongeBob because his restaurant is destroyed and then the episode ends.

Release

Reception

As of August 17, 2016, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 7.8/10 based on 118 ratings by users.[1] TV.com users give this episode a rating of 6.6/10 based on 128 votes.[2]

This is the second time the Krusty Krab is seen on fire. The first time was in "Squid's Day Off."

The Spot-Master 6000's power source is not revealed in this episode, but since an incredibly huge amount of energy is used and only an atomic bomb can create a blast that huge, the machine could have been nuclear powered.

In real life, mixing microwave radiation and water will just cause a lot of steam.

The footage of Atomic Bomb explosion shown in this episode was reused from "Dying for Pie," which is an actual underwater explosion on Bikini Atoll, the island near which the series takes place.

In one airing, the split-screen closing credits for this and two sister episodes were shown with the beginning of an episode, the audio plays over the United Plankton Pictures, Inc. and Nickelodeon logos. The letter freezes throughout most of the episode.

In Polish, the title is "Czysty talerz" ("The Clean Plate"), which is odd considering that title contradicts the episode's theme.

Cultural references

After SpongeBob realizes that he cannot remove the stain by scrubbing, he declares "This means war." This is the catchphrase that Bugs Bunny utters whenever an antagonist pushes him pass his limit. In turn, this catchphrase was inspired by Grouch Marx in Duck Soup

When SpongeBob is talking to the plate before he fires the laser, his speech and accent are a reference to the 1962James Bond movie Dr. No.

When SpongeBob says, "It may end life as we know it, but I am crossing the beams!," it is a reference to the 1984 movie Ghostbusters, in which it is revealed that crossing the beam of their proton-pack lasers will end life as they know it.

Errors

The plate's spot is below before SpongeBob shoots the pink sponge. Later, it is above.

When the Spot-Master 6000 starts to turn to ashes, SpongeBob has his helmet on. However, when SpongeBob falls on the ground, the helmet disappears.

He may have took the helmet off.

When Mr. Krabs says "Oh, this time, ya done it, boy," part of the floor is missing, but when he's chasing SpongeBob around in circles, the floor is one piece.

When Mr. Krabs starts chasing SpongeBob, it seems like the foundation of the Krusty Krab is quite small considering the small amount of the space that Mr. Krabs is chasing SpongeBob on.